BY AKINWALE ABOLUWADE, IBADAN
A foremost Ifa priest, who is also the Araba of Osogbo, Yemi Elebuibon, has described as baseless and unfair the opinion in some quarters that Sunday Adeyemo, a.k.a Sunday Igboho, has been demystified by security agents in the Republic of Benin, saying that the circumstances surrounding his arrest is peculiar and different.
Elebuibon and some other Yoruba traditionalists spoke on Sunday in separate telephone interviews with The Point on the continued incarceration of Igboho, a Yoruba nation agitator, who is currently facing trial in Republic of Benin.
The Araba of Osogbo said that those casting aspersions on Igboho for failing to justify his claim of possessing mystical powers were unsure if he had an amulet with him while on flight from Nigeria.
Against the assumption by those who alleged that the mystical powers to which he laid claim had failed him, Elebuibon said, “There is no limitation to the potency and the place where ‘egbe,’ (a Yoruba amulet for escaping from dangerous scenes) can work. It can work anywhere. However, the situation in which Sunday Igboho finds himself is different.
“If a dangerous animal is about to attack, one can use it or if one is in a vehicle and an accident is about to happen, the charm can move one away to a safe place. In the circumstances, which Sunday Igboho found himself, he might not have such a charm on him.”
The National Publicity Secretary of Oodua People’s Congress, Akinpelu Adesina, said, “There is no territorial limitation to ‘egbe’ provided you have the charm; you will vanish when in trouble if you wear the amulet. Whoever uses the charm can disappear whenever it is activated. Whenever something shocking happens, the mystical power would move one away from danger zone.”
Also, the Araba Oluisese of Ibadanland, Ifalere Odegbemi Odegbola, faulted those accusing Sunday Igboho of cowardice for fleeing Nigeria, saying, “Igboho is strong and courageous. Did Igboho tell anybody that he was wearing mystical power to vanish when he was arrested? Are we sure whether such charm was on him at the time in question? Chances are that he was not fortified with such bracelet at the time of his arrest. The public was aware that the personnel of the Department of State Service evacuated his power jackets and charms from his residence before he escaped from the country.
“One cannot conclude that the powers were not potent. Besides that, there is what we call destiny. As humans, our journeys in life had been predetermined by God. If you take stock of his life, he went through different challenges without getting hurt; God allowed it. However, during the raid by the DSS, his lawyer said that he was raided. If he had disappeared from his house using mystical powers, he would not have been bruised.”
